Liberation of Syracuse

The Liberation of Syracuse was a vital part of Operation Husky, the Allied invasion of Sicily, which occurred in July 1943. The British Eighth Army under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery landed on Sicily at Syracuse, and General Harold Alexander ordered for the British forces to secure the Pachino airfield, the port of Syracuse, and the nearby ports of Augusta and Catania. On 10 July 1943, the German Kampfgruppe Schmalz, led by Wilhelm Schmalz, launched a counterattack against British forces near Syracuse, and the Italian 54th Infantry Division Napoli under Giulio Cesare Gotti Porcinari broke through the British defenses and was halted just outside of Syracuse. On 13 July, however, the British succeeded in destroying the Napoli division at the Battle of Lentini, and the British also secured the port of Augusta. The Canadians took the Pachino airfield that same day, and the area around Syracuse was secured by the Allies.